On Feb 2, 2008 Dr.Beck and I witnessed more than 700 Palestinians voicing their ideas and aspirations and deciding how their Palestinian State should be designed!

This event was sponsored by our Center for Human Emergence-Middle East and designed and organized by Palestinian Women and Men, led by Nafiz Rifae a well respected Fatah Leader.

If you would liek to read more about that event and the growing influence of this work click here
www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/

What Is Enlightenment magazine is expanding the edges of consciousness through a dialogue with the leading minds of this era, and a direct no non-sense approach to spirituality, politics, sex, business....to everything that enables Emergence.

Dr Beck and I were asked by WIE to explain the work we are doing in the Middle East, especially the initiative we launched 2 years ago: Build Palestine Initiaive.

Igal Moria from WIE magazine who interviewed both of us extensively, had an amazing grasp of the deeper layers of this initiative. He engaged us in many lively discussions about the projects we are co-leading with our partners in the region and their long term effect on the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

It is amazing to witness a journalist being envolved, heart and soul, in a piece about culture and politics. I guess, we came to expect that from every journalists and writers at WIE magazine.

If you don't have the new issue yet, Ecology, Politics and Consciousness, I recommend you buy it. We had the permission of the magazine to post the article "A New Perspective for Palestine" on our website at http://www.buildpalestine.org/ and click on Featured Updates.

From Syria To Singapor: Our Center's Activities for July

http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/

Dr. Beck and I had a busy schedule in July. While Dr Beck's presentations and meetings in many countries had a wider scope and focus on Global Change " From Clash to Confluence of Civilizations," with an emphasis on the most pressing issue of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the model we are co-designing with our Palestinian partners for Build Palestine Initiative. My presentations and meetings focused on the Emergence of Arab women and their vital role in solving Middle East problems, as well as the role of the affluent Arab community in London, and a starting project with the European Union in Syria.

Dr. Beck's Presentations/Meetings:

July 9th in Aspen, Colorado: "Beliefs, Cultures and Values:How Spiral Dynamics Transforms Conflict and Finds Innovative Solutions in a Split World." Dr Beck presented to a well informed crowd after attending the Festival of Ideas at the Aspen Institute. He was invited back to Aspen and to speak at the Aspen Institute's Festival of Ideas next year. The integral group in Aspen set up brief meetings for Dr. Beck with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and many US leaders and world renowned philanthropists. They all showed great interest in the work we are doing in Palestine and in the fresh approach that the Spiral Dynamics' framework can offer to solving the Middle East conundrum.

July 15th in Toronto, Canada: "Spiral Dynamics integral Application to Global Organizations." Dr Beck met with business leaders in Toronto after the workshop and discussed with them Social Entrepreneurship. They expressed their genuine interest in supporting our Middle East initiatives.

July 17th in Singapore: Dr. Beck was invited by top leaders in the Government of Singapore to present his model and help with the design of an integral center to study the Singapore culture.

July 29-31 st in Minneapolis-Annual World Future Society Conference. "A Spiral Dynamics Perspective on Global Integration and Human Emergence."

August 1st Ashland-Oregon, with Dr Jean Houston: Social Artistry Summer Leadership Institute

Elza Maalouf's Presentations/Meetings:

July 14th, Dallas: Third International Women Peace Conference: Empowering Peacemakers.

"Emergence of Arab Women in the Age of Fragmentation" In this international conference many Nobel Peace Laureates spoke about active peacemaking. Our presentation was attended by women from various backgrounds and cultures: Leaders from the Muslim communities in the US, from Africa, from different countries in the Middle East and peacemakers from all over the world. Dr. Hind Jarah, president of Texas Muslim Women Foundation, gave us the most touching feedback saying "Thank you. You spoke about us with dignity and a rare clarity that was missed in this conference. Most speakers tiptoed around the subject of Islam and the Arab world, but did not address it." She added that that Spiral Dynamics integral gave a framework that respects the sensitivities in cultures while addressing the deeper issues beneath the surface beyond the "us and them" polarization. While many American women were well informed about Islam and the Arab world, and agreed that the issues the Middle East and the West are facing are not about religion, or ethnicity; some in the audience asked basic questions about why Muslim and Arab women wear the hijab. My answer to them was that " we come in all shapes and dress in all kinds of garments. What matters is our value-systems and what we can offer to our culture and to the world." And I had to repeat what a friend from the United Arab Emirates told me to convey to the West, saying "This is not a hijab over our Brain, it is just what we wear. We are educators, business women, doctors and mothers trying our best to provide a better world for our children."

July 17-23rd London: Meetings with Leaders from the Arab Community in London where I presented the application of the SDi framework in Palestine and in Kuwait. They were all fascinated by this 'fresh approach' and wanted to know more about the theory and its application. More meetings and a fundraiser for our projects in the Middle East are scheduled for October as well as a presentation at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies).

July 23-27th Bosra-Syria : a Partnership with the EU on a project in Bosra-Syria. The EU is sponsoring sustainability and development projects of many municipalities in Syria. The representative of the Municipalities of Rome and Belgium asked me to co-lead with them training and town meetings to further their projects with their Syrian partners in the city of Bosra. A more detailed account of the project and an assessment of the value-systems in Syria will be posted soon on the MeshWORKS in Syria page.

July 28th Kuwait: Integral Leadership and Application of Spiral Dynamics integral in Business.

July 29th London: Meeting with Young Arab Leaders to plan and fund a 10 day SDi and Natural Design training for young leaders from Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.

Dr Beck Designs A UN Global Action Plan for Human Emergence and Elza Maalouf presents a Model for Palestine 21

On June 21^st, 2007, Dr Beck and I spoke at the Values-Caucus at the UN to a standing room only conference hall. Representatives of various Arab, African and Western missions, NGOs and UN agencies employees, nodded their heads in agreement with the emphasis that we put on the deeper reasons for conflict and poverty, and the deeper value-systems codes that produce such "us" vs. "them" polarities. Rather than the surface manifestation of clash between religions, ethnicity, races and nationalities, we showed how the integral framework examines the deeper cultural forces and tracks dynamic perceptual processes that detect deep underlying mindsets and motives.

Dr Beck revealed--for the first time--his integral design strategy to support the UN's Global work, offering a Five Fold Strategy that can systematically further the UN's  role in the emergence of cultures and nations in the world. With more than 30 years of scientific research and field testing his framework on all five continents to deflate conflicts and support development, Dr Beck uncovered, what he calls, the master code that has the complexity to manage in a polylateral environment. The UN being one of the major bodies in the world, now, that needs to further its involvement in culturally complex environments to become a strong catalyst for change. Dr Beck explained in his presentation that "the Master code has to accommodate bands, clans, tribes, empires, nations-cultures, enterprises, geo-tribes, and a host of other value-systems and memetic priorities. Likewise, it simply must mesh in the new knowledge on change and transformation that is seriously lacking in all other developmental models."

A brief outline of The Five Fold Strategy for the UN Global Emergence Plan:

Strategy 1- Uncover the models and processes for Global emergence through steps, stages, waves and sequence of development

Strategy 2-Create the measuring monitoring research technology to detect the global vMemetic contours and early warning signs of danger

Strategy 3- Construct scaffolding of solutions that address the needs, wants and aspirations of people in different vMemetic zones

Strategy 4- Onto this vast amount of data, overlay an understanding of the dynamics of change in its many dimensions

Strategy 5- Design a macro-strategy for introducing superordinate goals into leadership structures and decision-making domains around the planet   

After Dr Beck presented his comprehensive, large-scale design, we proceeded to show how we are practically applying this design to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. For the last 2 years we have been working with Palestinians especially, to construct a scaffolding of solutions that are tailored to the various value-systems in Palestinian culture. We are working with leaders from different sectors of Palestinian society, especially young men and women who have demonstrated a great ability to lead change.  We are designing the vision for Fatah 21, or 21st century Fatah, with leaders from the Third Generation of Fatah. A vision that will not only unite Fatah around shared values and goals, but also unite the Palestinian people around the most important superordinate goal- a successful Palestinian State. From Fatah 21 to Palestine 21 ... 

Frances Edwards, a board member of the Values-Caucus at the UN, who coordinated this presentation with UN personnel, is now following up with many ambassadors, missions and NGOs who showed interest in the approach, including the Syrian ambassador and the Netherlands, Kuwaiti  and Peruvian missions. Frances' unwavering support and active involvement with our work is a testimony to the UN's openness  to fresh approaches towards resolving world problems. The Values-Caucus at the UN, established in 1994 and under the leadership of Carl Murell,  introduced to all bodies of the UN the distinctive need for stratified solutions based on value-systems in cultures, instead of the one-solution fits all models.

The next steps for our work with the UN will include major trainings on the Spiral Dynamics integral model and application as well as presentations to different boards, commissions, and councils on specific solution-design to enable confluence and emergence.

Please Check www.buildpalestine.org for pictures and updates.

Dr Beck and I were invited by the UN Values-Causus to speak on June 21st and meet with UN dignitaries to explain the Integral approach to the conflict that we are designing and implementing with Palestinians and Israelis .

The exciting news is that Dr Beck will reveal his vision of an Integral UN; he calls it the Master code that will transform the UN into a "Holonic, Intuitive thinking, global network for global results.." with integrative structures and systemic thinking for the good of all.

Here's the announcment and links (also on www.buildpalestine.org click on UN flag)

 

From the Clash to the Confluence of Civilizations:

Reshaping the United Nations to Close the Great Global Divides.

This presentation will get to the core of issues around the world, from reframing solutions in Africa to creative ways to defuse the hot issues in the Middle East.

While many speak of worldcentric solutions, few truly understand how to design a poly-lateral, distributed intelligence that could enhance United Nations operations in virtually all of its functions.

Dr. Beck is no stranger to global problems. He made 63 trips to South Africa as one of the architects of the transformation out of apartheid. Now he is active in Palestine with Elza Maalouf, in finding new ways to deal with the conflicts between Fatah and Hamas, and Palestinians and Israelis.

His work reflects a fresh understanding of human nature and is based on more than five decades of academic/scientific research, as well as many specific applications in "the real world."  He recently joined with several Mexicans, in working with the Mexico Teacher's Union, to design education for the entire country of Mexico.

Dr Beck has the big picture, large scale, and flow state perspective which, when understood and applied, makes possible dramatic shifts in problem-solution sequences. There is nothing else like this approach for the 21st Century, as it moves beyond the pre-modern, modern, and now post-modern perspective to describe in considerable detail the Integral Age, and how 6.7 billion "earthlings" can collaborate and prosper to move beyond "us vs. them" conflicts. A thrive and help thrive approach.

Dr. Don E. Beck is the Founder of the Global Center for Human Emergence and the coauthor of The Crucible: Forging South Africa's Future (with Graham Linscott, 1991) and Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership & Change.

Elza S. Maalouf is the co-founder and CEO of the Center for Human Emergence-Middle East. She was born in Lebanon and is a former attorney and business executive. Elza is now leading innovation within the Arab world to identify complex thinking that will unblock many of the stalemates and facilitate the emergence of Arabs into their 21st Century Renaissance. She is engaged in various integral projects in Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait and The Palestinian Territories.

  http://www.che-mideast.org/

I just finished reading a speech that John Mackey gave at Whole Foods Tribal meeting in March 2006 and cannot get over the joy of witnessing the birth of Integral Business. No more pie in the sky, it is real. A new, more compassionate, intelligent , profitable, eco-friendly and integrated type of leadership in business is emerging. The kind of leadership that can truly affect change in corporate practices.

Here's a link to Mackey's speech http://www.wholefoods.com/blogs/jm/archives/2006/05/the_upward_flow.html

Another CEO who introduced integral practices in his company is John Smith, CEO of HearthStone Homes-Omaha, one of the largest home building companies in the United States.  John follows a Whole Systems approach to practices in his company and enables the true emergence of the people who work there.

I respect and appreciate leaders like Mackey and Smith (same first name, must be the name?!) for ushering the Tipping Point that will bring forth changes in our money-only  oriented businesses and look forward to seeing more of this trend happening in the world.

I am now in Kuwait working with  two influential  business leaders here, and I am able to use the Whole Foods and Hearthstone model as a data for the success of integral practices and Natural design practices followed by these leading companies.

A large scale transformation of an organization starts with the transformation of its Leader. No amount of leadership training, team work, and emotional intelligence training for the personal can affect large scale change without the CEO's full participation.

Well, I spent the first 3 weeks of the Lebanon crisis, that started July 12th, watching the events unfold on our news networks, CNN, MSNBC, even FOX etc... The reporting was 'bi-polar' at best: American foreign correspondants in Haifa and Beirut were pro-Israeli. While European correspondants for CNN and MSNBC were pro-Lebanese.

Most American TV station were very apologetic when they were ready to show the reality on the ground: "We warn you these are graphic pictures." The death toll was up to 1100 Lebanese by the end of the 33 day war, more than half of them were children and elderly. 300 Israeli died, almost 170 of them were soldiers.

Many of us who need to know what is really happening in the World and sometimes in the US, we have to rely on foreign press along with few respectful newspapers and columnists in our country.

Towards the end of the Lebanese crisis I decided to connect Arabic Satellite Channels to get the story from their perspective. I was dreading listening to Al-Jazeerah biased reporting (an equivalent to FOX) and to other rhetoric on some Arab channels.

I was in for a suprize! Two of the International Lebanese Satellite TV channels, LBC and Future TV, were refreshingly objective and interviewed Israeli generals and soldiers. Of course there was a tendency for ethnocentricity especially during a crisis as such.

I tuned in back on CNN to see Lebanon and Israel suddenly dissapearing from the news (the way Iraq dissapeared during the Lebanon war) and the Bennet-Ramzi story filling up a 24 hour Network TV's schedule, where for example Wolf Blitzer, Paula Zahn, Lou Dobbs, Larry King and Anderson Cooper rehashed the same information about that poor kid over and over and over and over again.....I flipped the channels everyday and the same nauseating pattern continued...

What is wrong with them??? They are doing the same with  a Polygamist case now...

I believe that is an insult to our intelligence!

Iraq explodes our media forgets Katrina's disaster and the consequences  Louisiana and Mississippi residents are dealing with. Lebanon explodes, the media is quick to forget about Iraq.  When a polygamist story breaks that can obscure any news about Darfur, Detroit and Dublin!!!

YOU ARE THE ONE is the title of a Mystic poetry CD rendered to an eclectic music with Western and Arabic beats.  I felt a profound need to write untamed words that call on people's consciousness in the midst of the turmoil in my hometown region, the Middle East.

A whirling mixture of words, poetry, meditation and Passionate Divine Love played to piano, Lute and Tabla...a humble attempt to awaken Oneness as a path beyond the pair of opposites and where everything has One Taste...

You can check it out on Amazon under my name and sample it.

1. Divine Lovers  2. Illusion of Separateness  3. Pain & Joy 4. Rapture 5. You are the One 6. The Silence (Meditation) 7. The Soul in Trance

from "Divine Lovers"

 

Eager to Know, She said:

"When do we meet,

I hear your voice,

I miss your face,

I feel your breath,

It's touching my soul....

Look I am dancing...

In a swirling delightful trance....

Allah, Allah, Allah..."

When do we meet?

 

He said:

"I am here my love,

Turn your face....

Open your heart....

Keep dancing,

Keep rendering the names of God.....

Allah, Allah, Allah...."

 

from "Illusion of Separateness"

 

Building bridges starts with you, in you.

Tolerance of others is nothing but self-love, and acceptance of your limitations.

Caring for the world, is caring for the energy that envelops you

Embracing differences and diversity, is really, embracing your beauty and your darkness

 

Realize that every breath you take, you share with every creature and every living being

Every child crying in Africa is your child

Every girl raped in Ecuador is your daughter

Every elderly starving in Iraq is your grandfather

Every Israeli and Palestinian mother is your mother

 

...

In order to understand the complexity in Middle East, one has to be scientist, historian, anthropologist, geo-political startegist, cultural expert, economist and more....

The integral model pioneered by Plato, Ken Wilber, Graves, Don Beck and many others, offers an all comprehensive view of a cultural, national or organizational situations allowing us to have an awareness of a 'holonic' multi-dimensional perspective of the world.

Last week in New York, in collaboration with the Integral Salon NY and the SDi group,  we gave a presentation on the integral map of the Middle East vs. a flatland map. That integral map included Life conditions in the conflict ridden countries, geo-political aspect as well as a 1st person perspective of each of the parties involved.

In the presentation we presented the Flow nessecary to design natural systems to allow vertical change, not just traditional negotiation processes and horizontal solutions. The map included Palestine, Israel, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Syria, Iran , US, EU and the UN and covered the following:

 

A- Life conditions (Internal & external):

Historic Times: Location & particular stage of emergence

Geographic Place (natural /man-made),

Human Problems: Priorities, needs, concerns, existential problems

Social Circumstances: socio-economic class. Educational level, opportunities and access...

B- Dynamics of Change: Open-Arrested-Closed. The 10 conditions for change

C- Design & Alignment : Matching Job to be done with value-systems, future visioning for the region , strategic thinking, long and short-term planning into a single stream-line flow.

and here's an example...

1. Hezbollah

Life Conditions:  ( rural, religious, survival and dedication, no consumerism, strong loyalty to the family, tribe, and political leader, fearlessness (the strongest power in Lebanon) )

Historic Times: Shia'a faction in Lebanon was historically neglected and abused by its clan leaders and the Lebanese Leaders. They carry the victim archetype in their religious traditions since Ali the leader of Shia was persecuted and his sons were killed in Karbalaa (Ashoura celebration, flagellation rituals)

Geographic Place: Rural, agriculture, no access to amenities (electricity, shopping centers etc..) and social services

Human Problems: Neglected, mistreated, less than. Lack of respect and leadership in the country. Big families of 10 children and more. Poverty..

Social circumstances: lower class. No access to good education before Hezbollah's rise on the Lebanese scene and Iran's support. Day laborers. Multiple marriages. Tribal traditions not allowing for individuality.

 1st person perspective: I am part of the New Order that brings respect to a humiliated Middle East. I am not a Sunni, I am not a Sunni jihadist. I have my Shia revolution brand of ‘Resistance' standing up to the Immoral West, our corrupt, oppressive Leaders and to Zionism that displaced Our Palestinian People and defeated the Muslims. When given the right opportunity I can compete with the best minds in the world, I am a human being.  I respect my community, offer services to the disadvantaged, create opportunities for my people, in return I expect complete loyalty. I am a lawyer, dentist, teacher, PhD candidate, mother, father.....

The Transformational part of the process was the Experiential one that  was an eye opener for all of us. We asked one of the participants to take on the role of the Palestinian 1st person, and another to be the Iranian etc...I could see the face of each 1st person participant change as he/she took on that role. They even felt alienated and that their voices dissapeared...reduced to their nationality, people feel limited, confined and misrepresented...

The whole experience from exterior/objective view of individuals and systems, to interior/subjective view of culture and 1st person, showed many other dimesions of the conflict in the Middle East...

Of course what we did was a very simplified process of how in real life application this should be done, but this gave a glimpse of potentiality and opportunities.

Being integrally informed and thinking in a Holonic all quadrants all levels is one thing and applying the conceptual framework during a painful tragedy is another. It might awaken the wrath of your friends and loved ones, and in my case my compatriots.

Writing my blog (http://risinglebanon.blogspot.com)  about the geo-political aspect of the Lebanese conflict has not been an easy task. Especially when I am criticizing Hezbollah's armed militia and its hijacking to any Lebanese sovereignty. Many think that I am pro-Israeli or pro-US administration. Which I am not!

I am pro-emergence of cultures, pro-respect of Nation and pro-accountability. No I do not endorse strategic-Orange Israel and US when they use force to eliminate 'ideology.' I think that's destructive for Israelis, Americans and the Arab world they are trying to 'democratize.' I do not endorse the killing of innocent civilians trying to flee to safety and destroying Lebanon's infrastructure- that was built stone by stone by hard working Lebanese- to 'eliminate' Hezbollah. These ways are only supporting Hezbolla's cult status in the region.

As far as my integral thinking, I learned to keep it to myself during tough time. Stay true to my understanding and try to express it in a more sensitive way.